Greetings, ladies and gentlemen of Ateraan. I am Agrias Saestas, Brother of the
Waylumi Clergy, and I thank you for your time and patience in allowing me to
present to you this sermon upon the subject of Repentance.
I shall not beat about the bush. This world can be a wonderful place, or a
terrifying one, with all of the shades and colors of them in between. We are a
world of Kingdoms, Faiths, Clans, Guilds, and other, various collectives, all
of which serve the purpose of banding people together for the survival and
advancement of our societies.
Within these societal boundaries, it is necessary, for the co-operation and
continuance of such an organization, for there to be several things present.
The first is a Charter, a code of responsibility and behaviour, if you will.
For example, the 'Charter' of the Waylumi Faith is the Tenets of the Goddess,
which our faithful work daily to uphold and exemplify. The second is a ranking
structure, for the sole purpose of enforcing the Charter and ensuring the
examples given are worthy of continuing service to the Organization. The third
requirement is, of course, membership..
These requirements, differing though they be throughout the various
organizations of this land, all have a similar effect throughout them all. You
follow your organization's charter, or you are punished according to its rules
and policies of organization. Sometimes, severe enough infractions are enough
to have your membership revoked.
As a member of an organization, infractions occur. It is unfortunate, but
mortal nature itself to be imperfect. No one person can follow all of the
rules, all of the time. Some individuals do not care if they fail, some
individuals do care when they fail. It is the second group that we are
addressing.
An individual who fails, but truly cares for his organization, or perhaps not
the organization itself, but what the organization represents, shows remorse at
failing to uphold the organization's standards of behavior. They have failed,
and by the codes of conduct, must be punished. A punishment, then, is struck
upon them. Those who do not repent, who do not feel this remorse, will go about
their tasks mechanically, and without emotion, only caring that their
priveleges and place are restored.
A repentant individual cares. They learn. They do not repeat their offence,
because their offence struck them to the core of their being. Repentance is not
a path to walk, it is not a checklist of items to perform before a punished
individual is allowed back into the fold. It is a state of mind, a feeling that
improves the individual's standing within the organization in the long run. It
shows they care for, and love, what their organization represents, and instills
lessons in them they will carry with them forever.
Which of these would you prefer, as a member of your organization? The one who
does not care, and simply wishes to get his punishment over with? Or, mayhaps,
as a leader, you would prefer to have the one who cares, who cries, who
apologizes for his mistake?
However, Repentance has another side to it, the side of the Leadership, as
well. A Repentant individual, a truly penitent member of the community, is
already being punished in that they feel they have done wrong. It thus falls to
their leadership to carefully contemplate how far and how hard the punishment
must be, lest that Repentance turn to resentment. A resentful individual is one
who grows in anger, who feels their worth to their cause is being ignored, or
worse, devalued, and who will begin to act out, or seek to undo their cause
from sheer spite.
Thus the leadership must balance their punishment, and the Repentant individual
be capable of showing they are, indeed, Repentant. In this way, and only in
this way, two sides coming together to a mutual understanding, can all parties
move forward, together, into the dawn of a new, more enlightened time for the
community, for the leadership, for the Repentant.
Growing communities, and guiding the way forward for those who are lost. That
is the power of true Repentance.
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